Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Warfang
Summary: Long ago, Virgil laughed, and since then, his life has never been the same. Not all laughing is funny, and not all crying is in grief. A pre Virgil/Richie.


I do not own Static Shock!

Bring on the ANGST! But keep in mind, this is my first time writing angst (I've only written tragedies before) so you may or may not be reaching for tissues.

On with the story. Of course it has a happy ending. Well, it has a resolution.

Richie Foley, driving across the Arizona desert, never thought he would find two deserted people in the middle of the desert, wearing formal wear.

Cutting off 'Juke Box Hero' he slowed down and stopped.

"And just what were you idiots drinking?" He called out. "Never mind. I've got a place and a phone a few more miles into the desert. Want a lift?"

The woman gave him a look, clearly exhausted, and supporting a man of great power and wealth, by his shoes and watch, who didn't have much in the way of clothes. She sighed, and then trudged over to the car.

The woman was powerful. Her friend was nearly limp and hardly supporting his own weight, but she carried him well enough without actually dragging him.

Setting him up in the front seat, she buckled him in, before opening the back door and collapsing into the back seat.

She buckled in, and Richie peeled off into the desert again, music playing quietly.

He nearly missed the glint from the next body as his highlights passed over them a hundred miles later.

"What in the name of all that is holy!" Richie exploded, waking up his passengers.

"What are you idiots doing in the desert? Hey, wait, aren't you Cyborg? And you, you're Robin, and you're…Static."

Richie sighed and hung his head.

Then he brought his head back up.

"Need a lift?"

Cyborg carried Robin over and set him in the middle of the back seat. Then the car dipped as the mechanic sat behind the driver. Static looked at the driver for a long moment.

"Uh, I can fly."

"Get in." Richie bit out.

"He's right. If you crash now, not knowing where we are, you could die out here." Robin slurred from the back seat.

Popping the top off, Static floated into the middle seat, careful not to touch the driver. The lid clicked back on.

Richie turned the music back on, selecting old Irish songs in their native tongue from the databanks.

Then he peeled the last few miles to his house.

Built like an Impala, handled like a Ferrari. And his car was built to move on his instinct, syncing up with him.

They entered his house, with Richie leading the way. He brought out an extensive medical kit, complete with a curved needle and medical tape.

"If you actually need staples, I don't have the kind for human flesh. Food and water in through that door in the kitchen, these panels can notify me anywhere in the house, just hit this button. Bedrooms are not furnished, so just grab some couches. I think they're the fold out kind."

Richie made up a few beds, helping the woman settle her companion into one.

She had long black hair and ice blue eyes that were trained intently on him. The guy was dressed as a very rich man, so Richie wondered which social event they were banned from.

Shrugging it off, and firmly telling his mind to shut up, Richie headed off to bed himself.

Then with a growl, he stormed back outside. Running his hand over the trunk, Richie listened to the clock click and the lid opened to show him the groceries he had gone to get, in their respective containers. With a growl, Richie lifted them out.

"Nice coolers."

Cyborg had followed him out.

"Think I can help you with that?"

Richie gave a short breath, and then nodded.

Cyborg easily carried the crates in and put them away. Static hovered out of the way, watching Richie.

The twenty-two year old with the ponytail and the ripped jeans ignored the super hero. His body was lean, more from neglect than actually working out, lost to many nights of working on his projects.

"So. No interrogation?" Cyborg teased.

Richie yawned.

"They clearly either left a party or were chased out. He's injured, and maybe a head wound. She can't get ahold of anyone, so she's the silent sentry. Hoping he'll pull through. You three were on a mission, but your ride tanked, and so you had to make it on foot. Static protected you from the worst, but even training for the desert doesn't prepare you. You all are just exhausted. Enough deduced."

Waving a hand at Cyborg, Richie left for his personal room.

Cyborg gave Static a raised eyebrow. Static opened his mouth, and then shut it, hanging his head. Cyborg sighed, and turned back to giving Robin some water before letting him sleep, and then powering down for the night.

A slight cough came from behind him.

"I've got a car battery I'm not using. If you need it. I doubt any of my appliances could interface with you, and this place is supporting enough without the drain from feeding you. But I can't put all the work I do above your own welfare. Here."

Richie handed over the car battery.

Cyborg accepted the battery and the jump cables, setting himself up before going into sleep mode.

Static hovered at the door way, a pained expression on his face.

Richie made eye contact.

"Bed. Now." He ground out, motioning to some blankets and an extra couch.

"Shower's there." Richie added, throwing a hand at a hallway.

Static nodded.

Richie left and shut his bed room door.

Static sighed and dropped to the floor, his head resting on his knees. He was a grown man, and yet, he couldn't even…

….he'd never thought he'd see Richie again.

* * *

><p>Richie was standing in front of him, and they were just out of high school. He had a date with Frieda that evening, and Richie had pulled him aside for that morning, to show him which colleges had accepted him.<p>

Virgil just laughed. There was no place that could turn down Richie. Not if they had any idea how smart he was. In fact, Richie seemed to be fussing with the edge of his sweat shirt.

"Something else you want to talk about?"

"Uh, yeah. Virgil, you know how you're my best friend, and my best friend no matter what, right? Well, there's something else I want to tell you. Before I tell my parents."

"Sure, bro, what is it?" It had been so easy to say those words. To be relaxed in front of Richie, who he had known his whole life. Or, knew for eleven years.

"Virgil, I, I'm gay." Richie admitted.

Virgil looked at him for a moment.

He couldn't remember how it happened. But he was laughing.

"Haha, oh man, Rich, just because you've never dated a girl doesn't mean you're gay, and- whoops, that's my cell. The timer to meet Frieda on time has sounded. Catch you later, bro."

He should have blown Frieda off. He should have stayed and talked to Rich. He should have never laughed at him.

Returning the next day after sleeping in and expecting to see Richie in his room, instead entering the house and having the land lady ask for the spare key back, that had been a shock.

Running up to Richie's room, finding everything gone, that was a real blow.

He had laughed at Richie. He had belittled Richie. And in turn, Richie had left him. He had torched their relationship because he was an idiot.

Maybe it was a joke. Some kind of cruel punishment for not understanding Richie.

He couldn't have lost his best friend over something as trivial as Richie wondering over his sexual orientation, could he?

Richie had to be at the Gas Station.

Virgil ran past the land lady, racing all the way to the center of town.

Gear's stuff was all there. That meant Richie had to come back, right?

He sat in the Abandoned Gas Station of Solitude all by himself, and then another day, and then Pops came to find him.

"Richie left for college. Some private institution that will pay his way if he makes the program. He just decided last night, dropped by and was so sorry to have missed you. Promised to write when he could."

Robert Hawkins looked at his son.

"Did something else happen?"

Virgil shook and cried.

* * *

><p>He wanted to cry.<p>

Richie couldn't stand to say more than two words to him, and he only was civil because other super heroes were present. Maybe.

Maybe it was all the years they were friends, and not the years they never talked to each other.

Virgil felt like laughing.

And he told Richie to focus on the problem at hand.

* * *

><p>Stretching the kinks out of his back, Static was surprised to see Richie glaring at him.<p>

"Shower. Now." He bit out.

Static got to his feet, and shuffled past Richie.

"Dude, what is your problem? You've been picking on Static since you saw him." Cyborg was close to calling Richie racist, but Richie wasn't supplying Static or himself with material less than stellar, or the others.

In fact, the car battery had him running nearly full power, and the juice box had even more charge stored away.

"What was that car battery?"

Ah, Cyborg, easily distracted by mechanical marvels.

"Ah, just the prototype for the new electric car. My design won, and it'll be revealed next year. It's got twenty percent more range than any other competitor, and since I'm an independent, I got to sell to LexCorp and WayneTech. Though WayneTech is making a bid for me to be theirs exclusively. I mostly ignore them."

Cyborg nodded.

"Good luck with that." Robin muttered over his cereal. "That's Bruce Wayne over there. Obviously a kidnapping gone wrong. Does this place have any defenses?"

Richie snorted.

"This place has better security than a Chihuahua with an attitude." He retorted. "I live as a hermit, with as much choice and I work on a lot of high end projects, the information and blue prints of which are nearly invaluable, and all of them personalized or for a major company."

Riche leaned back from the refrigerator and stated, "A glass of orange juice."

The machines whirred to life, pouring him a drink and presenting it on a coaster. Richie grabbed the drink and sat down.

"This place has security better than your Titan Tower, actually. Because it's private property, I do have the choice of lethal. But, the rules out here are different in the current day, so I skipped lethal and just went with notifications and traps you couldn't get through. My car's the only object that broadcasts the codes to enter, and that's because I tell it what to broadcast."

Richie sat back.

"For instance, say that I wanted Static to take a cold shower, I just," Richie's eyes furrowed. Abruptly he stood up.

"That idiot." He spat. Then he stormed down the hallway.

Robin and Cyborg shared a look, before chasing after the mad genius.

Richie threw the door open with a wave of his hand, and stormed into the shower. The water was running, and Static was submerged in a bath.

"Pwah!" he gasped, coming up, clearly having held his breath. He had enough time to gasp before Richie dunked him again.

He brought Static up, coughing and spluttering, to his full height. The tub began to drain, and the water switched to a shower, steam beginning to rise.

"Never. Again." Richie bit out.

"Makes sure he doesn't get killed by his own idiocy." Richie stated icily to the two Titans, brushing past them. "Please." He gritted out, before storming out to a closed door and vanishing behind it.

"Dude, Static, is he from Dakota or something?"

"….I ever tell you two about Gear?" Static whispered.

Robin gave a visible start. Cyborg frowned.

"I'm accessing the internet here, and there seems to be a library here dedicated to everything you've done up to last week, Static. Why's that?"

"Because, our rescuer is my old partner."

Robin sidled next to Cyborg.

"Don't you mean ex-sidekick?"

Static froze.

"No. No. He's my…it was my fault. He's a wonderful person. An unsung hero. And it's all my fault." Static sank back down.

"Well, he was accessing the main grid to give you an ice shower for a moment, and he seems to have heat sensors in here, if not cameras. Man, he is talented. And here I thought Gizmo and I were good. Well, actually, he's made a better Backpack than Gizmo ever did. This is awesome." Cyborg whistled. His face had the expression that he was reading an invisible book, the information racing around his circuits and read.

Static gave a slight cough, and then pulled the glass door shut.

Robin and Cyborg waited for him outside in the hall. When Static came out, he was clean shaven and smelled wonderful.

"All yours." He said in passing, making his way to the kitchen.

Robin shared a look with Cyborg. If Static didn't want to tell them what happened, okay. But they would make sure that this Gear wasn't a threat to the Titans.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Batman walked down the hall, searching for their missing host. The man, Richard Foley, had been a very intimidating presence, and yet he seemed more civil, and yet unhinged in the head.<p>

Batman wanted to solve this mystery. Approaching the door Robin said he went through, Batman felt around before the door opened. On the other side stood Richie.

"Static told me that you two drove Joker out of town. I never thanked you for helping him. Then again, you only met me a few times. Come on in." There was no preamble, and the shorter blonde was already heading back in.

Batman followed him into the darkness.

* * *

><p>Static punched another bag, ducking and weaving between the swinging obstacles. No wonder the plate over the door read 'Death Course'. For something that was so basic, getting knocked over by a bag of sand still hurt.<p>

There were six of them hung at intermediate heights, and knocking into one meant having to dodge that and hit another out of the way, which meant two were swinging at you, and it quickly turned into keeping your personal space clear of swinging ouch.

Diana watched him from the doorway, her evening gown being cleaned and a simple pair of jogging clothes in its place.

"So what happened between you two? I mean, usually, Bruce and I respect privacy, (but even we see a cosmic power at force) but you clearly are dependent on the moods this Richie has."

Static gave a snort.

"I hurt him. And I don't know if I can ask his forgiveness. I mean, he hasn't said he regrets leaving, and maybe there's someone else in his life."

"Look around you. There are several couches here, but only one shower. There are a lot of places to eat in the kitchen, but nothing that couldn't be converted into impressing potential clients with wealth. He's alone, and in the desert. Has anyone ever told you about deserts?"

Static nodded.

"A place with little to no precipitation, the tundra is classified as a desert. But hot or cold, only those adapted to surviving in the desert will survive. There is great beauty out here, but only if you can look for it." He recited. "And that's what high school taught. Life gave me a different lesson."

Diana kept her gaze on him. Motherly figure she was not.

"I…I knew Richie was uncomfortable. And I was stupid. It all looks so stupid, if it wasn't so important and didn't hurt so much…"

"But it is and it does." Wonder Woman cut off. "What else?"

"…He told me he was gay. And I just laughed at him."

Wonder Woman looked at him for a moment.

"Static Shock, you idiot. Did you have any idea how much that hurt? No wonder he ran." She shook her head, watching him.

Virgil hung his head.

"Not an hour goes by that I don't wonder how to make it right, and now that I've found him, I don't know what to do."

Wonder Woman gave him a look. One that said just what she thought of males and their ability to hold a relationship.

"I mean, I just expect him to laugh at me when I get my nerve together to apologize. I want…I want what we had back." Virgil admitted. _And maybe a little more, but I've lost that chance. Why did it take me so long to figure that out?_

Wonder Woman made an aggravated noise, and then stormed into the room. Static had the faint impression that she was about to hit him.

* * *

><p>Batman followed Richie into the room. By the sound of their feet, the place was rather empty, too empty to be the lab.<p>

"Welcome to my…hobby." Richie announced, waving his hand.

The outline of what was there lit up the room.

Batman surveyed the wreckage, lovingly cared for.

He had seen this monument before. In his Bat Cave. It was how he arranged the reminders of the villains he fought.

And everything on this side was dedicated to Static.

Across the wall, there were some newspaper clippings, preserved under a clear wrapping material. Even from this distance, Batman could tell that those were the ones from when Gear never showed again. The ones that celebrated the fifth year anniversary once the citizens of Dakota realized that Gear was gone.

There were many wild speculations. The most logical was that Gear was working behind the scenes full time. The second idea was that Gear was killed.

Guess which one the citizens ate up more.

"I don't really hate him. I just…I can't stand him. Sometimes I wonder if he meant to realize, and then I remember just how little I mean to him." Richie's arms were wrapped around him. But his chin was up, his face staring down his collection.

"I don't quite know why this is here. Maybe it's my form of good-bye." Richie whispered.

Batman weighed what he could say right here. Clearly, Richie was unhinged, but then again, who wasn't in this world? All the people who were really alive were insane to some degree.

He didn't know what to call himself in the period between his parents dying and Batman coming to life.

Now Richie was in limbo. If Static slipped away now, and Richie went off the deep end, they would all lose a chance to know a wonderful man. In fact, the next time he saw Richie might be to put him in a padded cell.

"Tell me about it." Batman stated. Not demanded. Not requested.

"I told him I was gay, and he blew me off for a date with Frieda. It wasn't that I was asking him out. Or that I expected him to accept me right off the bat. I just wanted him to….to recognize the severity of the situation. I mean, he all but fled my house our freshman year because my dad's a white supremist, but I wasn't expecting…him to just laugh."

The head started to dip.

"He just laughed at me." Richie whispered.

"And you think he laughed because he didn't take you seriously." Batman intoned.

"I thought- no, I deluded myself into believing that it was a defense mechanism, but when I tried to contact him later that month…I was told that the line was disconnected. After two years of trying to reach him, I realized that he was actively avoiding me. He didn't want to apologize."

Two years…that sounded like the time spent in the underground ring.

"You got him through his darkest hours."

"I what?"

"Static thought of you when he was forced to kill other Titans in an underground ring. There's no confirming data out there, but if you're anything, you would have heard about it."

"So why didn't he come to see me? I wrote him. So many letters." Richie whispered.

At this, Batman frowned.

"Do you have a copy?"

"Yeah. Over there."

Batman shuffled through the papers, looking through them. This didn't make sense. These should have found Virgil, Teen Titan or not.

"I heard you said you did work for LexCorp?"

Richie snorted. "As if those morons could sort through my mail and destroy just those letters. They'd have to hire someone to do that."

Batman looked at him.

"I'll have the evidence by the evening. If I may?"

Richie nodded mutely.

Minutes later, Batman had produced several LexCorp bugs that had undermined Richie from any potential 'distractions'. Richie flushed red.

Someone who has Viking and Irish ancestry have very colorful words and ideas for what they will do to those sabotaging their love life.

"And if nothing sticks to them, I will be hiding behind WayneTech, if you'll let me." Richie amended.

"Of course I'll take you. You're rather impressive, but first, Virgil."

"Right." Richie sprinted out of the lit room, and Batman marveled how the house seemed to improve with his mood. He'd barely tripped over 'pride goeth before a fall'. _Then again,_ Batman mused, _these bugs seemed to have been built by a third party, so if Richie was only expecting someone to plant them from LexCorp, he might have never sensed someone else come in._

* * *

><p>Richie flew into the room.<p>

"Virgil, I am so sorry! I left before you could explain- where's Virgil?"

Robin pointed towards the training deck.

"He's in the Death Course with Miss Diana. Why?"

Richie beamed as he hurried by.

Cyborg's jaw hit the floor. Robin sent a look into the shadows by the door.

"This is going under the 'top strangest moments' list. You actually cheered someone up?" Batman folded his arms.

* * *

><p>"Virgil, I have to tell you-"<p>

"I'm so sorry, I was an idiot!"

Virgil was burying his nose into Richie's neck. His arms were around Richie, and then he lifted Richie up on his saucer, until they hovered together.

"I didn't mean to drive you away, and then I lost sight of you, but never did an hour go by that I wasn't thinking of you, Rich! God, I am an idiot. I do accept you, Richie. I do."

Virgil held him.

"Oh. Oh, Virgil, you idiot. That's all I wanted." Richie felt something hot track down his cheek, landing on Virgil's shoulder.

Richie clung to Static, who gently floated down.

"I love you." Richie whispered. "I was so worried, I was sick all the time from the anxiety. The only thing keeping my going was that I could see you again. And when I do, I was so stupid, I didn't want you to leave with this unresolved, but I didn't know what to do to fix it, and then I was mad at myself, and Virgil, I love you."

"Love you too, Rich." Static held Richie, refusing to let go.

The smell of food, however, reminded Richie that he hadn't eaten yet.

"I brought you both some chicken sandwiches." Miss Diana announced. "Take all the time you need." She set the tray down with glasses and plates, and then she left.

"Oh, and thank you for mending the dress. It was a lend."

"No problem." Richie called after her.

Virgil spent the rest of the day snuggled against Richie, their fingers interlocked, talking about the past few years. They fell asleep around each other.

The next day, an acceptance letter went out to WayneTech for the position of an engineer.

Little did Batman know, the man who would move Gotham towards flying cars and automatic elevators had been welcome with wide arms.

* * *

><p>AN: Because Richie does live when Terry McGinnis does, and he probably did build up Gotham. Or not. But that's my logic for this fic.

And I don't know where this little bundle of angst came from. But if you didn't feel like crying, I have failed as an author and need to redo the fic.

So drop a line! J egads, it turned into a real smiley face.


End file.
